Emotiva amplifiers review/experience?

I have been an audiophile since I was 15 and today am 49. And, for all audiophiles out there, I can assure you 90% that the problem is not the emotiva amps or any amp. It is basically the way the whole system is connected. You see if you really want to get that sweet, effortless, delicate sound, without listening to the electronics or transistors, but the music itself, you have to follow very simple rules.

When you make connections from one component to another, let's say from your source to the preamp and from the preamp to the power amp; you have to make sure that all the components are NOT grounded, if the signal is unbalanced. In other words, if you send an unbalanced signal from your CD player with regular RCA unbalanced cables to a grounded preamp or amplifier, the ground from those components will make the entire system sound like crap. I learned that the hard way. I returned so many nice equipment in the past due to poor quality sound until I found out what was causing the problem. You see, grounds makes your system noisy if you use unbalanced signal. Not only will add noise, but static and an overall up front presentation that will cause fatigue within minutes. But, if you remove the ground pins from each component by using a simple groundless adapter, your whole system will sound sweet, delicate and natural. You'll hear only the music. Now, on the other hand, if you have a balanced signal coming from your source, connected to a balanced preamp and power amp as well, then you can leave everything grounded. And of course you will get that sweet balanced sound again.

So, again, if are going to go with a balanced signal, keep everything grounded. But, if your have an unbalanced signal coming from your source, make sure you remove all the grounds from each component. If you notice, most manufacturers like Marantz and even Emotiva are not adding the ground pin on their equipment any more. Take a look at their new line of preamp/processors, DAC's and amplifiers and notice that most of them are not grounded, even though they do provide balanced input and balanced output. For example, emotiva latest DAC(Stealth DC-1) is ungrounded compare to the XDA-2. Same with the XPA-2 amplifier.

Another important factor, make sure you have right polarity on your AC line. The large ping on the AC outlet should always be the NEG, and the small, the POS. And, always have a 20 amp AC line dedicated to your audio system only. DO NOT connect anything else to it. For example, if you connect your router, modem or any other device, it will cause interference and add noise to the line and into your system because they all have annoying transformers inside. Even a simple table lamp, with a florescent light bulb, will add noise to the AC line if it's connected to your system AC outlet. Only connect your source, preamp and power amp to it, and of course, ungrounded.

Another device that makes your system sound cold and lifeless are AC power conditioners. I have tried several of them through the years and every time I buy one I end up returning the unit. For some reason they seem to remove all the air from the music. Personally, I don't like them, even though they do protect your equipment from voltage spikes and damages.

Anyway, going back to the connections, I prefer to start with an unbalanced signal, ungrounded all the way to the end. Why? Simply because when the signal finally reach the speakers; you end up with a positive and negative cable only without a ground. So, it makes more sense to me to keep everything unbalanced, ungrounded from the beginning.

Therefore, when people talk about Emotiva poor sound quality compare to other high end brands while others find them very sweet sounding, delicate and powerful, to me it all comes down to the connections or the setup.. And the same principal applies to any amp. --HR

Removing the ground pin is a safety hazard! Try collecting on an insurance policy if it's found out your electronics all had their ground connections tampered with. Also, as an electrician, I've never heard of someone having their AC line polarity reversed. I suppose if some DIYer has added some plugs the wrong way it's possible, but that would be pretty rare.

Henry, in your last paragraph you forget that all people do not have the same skill in listening, the same hearing, the same preferences or the same room acoustics. But at the end of the day, Emotiva made some compromises to bring their products to market, and it shows. Sure their amps can sound better than an AVR, but is that saying much?

My friend, I guess you totally misunderstand what I said. If what you said would've been true, about removing the ground pin and having problems with the insurance, then how come most electronics from many respected manufactures DO NOT add or employ their ground ping in their audio systems? Like I mentioned before; take a look at some of the Marantz processors as well as their power amps and home theater receivers. They all come with the positive and negative polarity only, no grounds. Even my Sony S790 blu-ray player, a simple player that I use mostly for movies, does not come with the ground pin. And if that would've been a safety issue, how come most appliances around the house do not comes with the ground pin such as lamps, toasters, cell phone chargers, etc. And by the way, I never mentioned anything about reversing the AC polarity. In the contrary, what I recommended was to make sure you had the right polarity, the small pin(+) positive and the large (-)the negative. And by the way, I also have my background in electronics as an audio/video technician. I went to TCI School in N.Y. City, back in the 90's. Furthermore, I worked for a mayor company repairing and replacing flat panel TV's for Circuit City and Best Buys. I also design my own speakers. So, the advised that I am giving you does not comes from an amateur.

Yes, many electronics companies do not design their products to have the ground pin, and that is fine. The point is not whether or not the manufacturer includes one. They follow the various laws and safety regulations or else their products would not be sold here.

The point is when a ground pin has been designed with a component. It is there for a reason. If you remove it you are removing a safety component that the manufacturer has put there for a reason, whether it be UA standards, consumer laws or safety regulations. And insurance love to find excuses to exclude claims. Tampering with ground pins would make an insurance claims manager giddy.

Your polarity comment puzzles me. I understood fully what you said the first time, and this time, what I was saying is having reversed polarity is almost unheard of, and not something that needs to be checked out unless there are symptoms. Many home owners wouldn't have the slightest idea or equipment to inspect for polarity. But I suppose it would do no harm if they know what they are doing and don't shock themselves.

I understand your concern as well. But you may be surprise on how many dealers and manufacturers recommend removing the ground pin because of a ground loop causing noise in your system. If you don't, you would not be able to enjoy your music at all because of the "humb". Of course, you are not doing it on purpose, but you have to. Take a look at PS Audio power cables. They are designed with a removable ground pin for those purposes. So, if the ground pin is remove under those conditions, the insurance company will not cover because a ground ping was removed from the system? I doubt it. I remember when I had the Aragon stage one processor along with the matching 3005 power amp connected with a power subwoofer in the same power strip. I had to remove one ground pin from the preamp or power amp in order to avoid ground loops because they were all grounded.

Now, in regards to the polarity, I read your comments more carefully and understood better what you are trying to say. But, remember that back on the 80's when the electric companies started to replace the old AC socket with the new three prong, many were installed the wrong way by people who never had a background as electricians. Therefore, I always check my polarity as a rule every time I move from one apartment to another just in case. You may be surprise how many were installed the wrong way.

Any way, happy listening!